Patrick Leonard, the star third baseman with the Burlington Royals, has been spending time with catcher Cam Gallagher the past few days.

They were teammates during the weekend. By late Sunday night, they were just friends.

Leonard was involved in a head-turning trade between the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays, going to a new organization after one sizzling professional season.

“It still hasn’t sunk in yet,” Leonard said Monday afternoon. “I know it’s a good thing, but I have to leave the Royals organization and those guys I’ve got to know for just a year.”

Leonard’s star potential blossomed in Burlington, where he became the Appalachian League all-star third baseman and shared the league lead with 14 home runs.

Leonard was one of the pieces in the trade, with Kansas City acquiring pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis and a player to be named later. In return, Tampa Bay picked up highly touted outfielder Wil Myers, who was the 2012 Minor League Player of the Year, minor-league pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery and Leonard.

Myers, who’s from Thomasville, was a key component of a trade referred to a “blockbuster” in wire reports. Like Leonard, he began his professional career with Burlington, though in Myers’ case for only a week in 2009.

Leonard was one of the signature pieces of Burlington’s 2012 team, which won the league’s East Division title and came within an out of winning the city’s first professional championship in nearly two decades.

“We lost Patrick,” said Tommy Shields, manager of the Burlington Royals. “Anytime when you lose a guy, it’s a little bit shocking. But in the grand scheme of things, this is not that stunning.

“When you think about it, he’s a player teams are going to like. It’s always a little bit of shock, when the actual names come out.”

Leonard, who turned 20 this autumn, said he’s accepting the role in a new organization. After all, his season in Burlington likely bolstered his stock.

“I guess that definitely had something to do with it, the year I had,” he said. “To (be) in a trade with big-name players, I guess it’s a good thing. … It sucks to (be separated from teammates), but it’s good for the career.”

Leonard arrived in Pennsylvania a few days ago to spend a week with Gallagher, who was his roommate in extended spring training, with the Burlington team and in fall Instructional League. Kansas City minor- league outfielder Jerrell Allen, who’s from Delaware, Gallagher and Leonard have been hanging out.

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Sunday night, there was something new to discuss. J.J. Picollo, the assistant general manager for player development for Kansas City, called Leonard, who missed the call. On the next attempt, Picollo got through.

He told Leonard there was a 90-percent chance the trade would happen, pending approval from all parties. Leonard later spoke with Mitch Lukevics, director of minor league operations for the Rays — and his new boss.

“That was the last thing I was expecting,” Leonard, who was headed Monday to New York for sightseeing with Gallagher and Allen, said of being involved in a trade.

By then, other Rays officials had been in touch with him as a way to make introductions.

Tommy Shields also spoke with Leonard on Monday and was comforted by his former player’s outlook.

“What surprised me was how positive he was,” Tommy Shields said. “He knew he had an opportunity here in Kansas City. Anytime someone trades for you, you know they really like you.

“He definitely built value in himself and Tampa obviously really likes him. A lot of teams are going to like Pat. They’re not the only team.”

Tommy Shields said there are sacrifices to be made across an organization when trying to build winning big-league teams.

“When you get guys like a Shields and a Wade Davis, you’re going to have to give up a lot,” the Burlington manager said.

Leonard’s 14 home runs in 2012 are tied for the third-most in Burlington’s Appalachian League history. He drove in 46 runs, setting a team record for the six-year affiliation between Burlington and Kansas City.

Leonard, who batted .251 for Burlington, said he figured if his professional career lasted long enough, he would be part of a trade.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it this early,” he said.

Leonard is from Jacksonville, Fla., even though he played his senior year of high school in Houston under former major leaguer Craig Biggio. So now he’s a member of a home-state organization.

If he makes a full-season Class A team in 2013 in the Tampa Bay system, he would play for the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Midwest League or the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Florida State League.

Since fall Instructional League in Surprise, Ariz., Leonard joined Gallagher and 2012 Burlington outfielders Terrance Gore and Alex Hudak on a cruise before accelerating workouts again. He won’t be headed back to Surprise, instead going to spring training in Port Charlotte, Fla. (also the home of the organization’s Florida State League team).

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With Leonard likely a few years away from reaching the big leagues, Tommy Shields said he told the player to keep working so that by then perhaps Tampa Bay star third baseman Evan Longoria, who signed a long-term contract this offseason, could move to first base to make way for Leonard.

In the meantime, Leonard will absorb this latest news and keep tabs on his ever-ringing phone.